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Making my own falafel!

Making falafel at the Peace, Love, and Raw Café gave me a craving to make some of my own, some that I could actually enjoy myself! So the following Sunday afternoon, I gathered my ingredients, and together, me and my mom got to work! The recipe we used was from my new favorite recipe site: http://www.rawmazing.com/falafels-the-raw-food-way/, it was all raw, and we got to use the dehydrator!

Gathering all the ingredients!

The ingredients we used were basically the same as the ones I used at the Café: garbanzo beans, onions, garlic, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, cumin, coriander, and tamari! You basically throw all the ingredients together, form little falafel balls (or patties) -we did one tray of balls and one tray of patties to see which one we liked better- and then dehydrate! I have to say, it was nice being able to work without gloves in my own kitchen -much, much easier and faster!

Grinding the Flax Seeds!

Ground sunflower seeds (left) and ground flax seeds (right)

Juicing Lemons

Laying out my falafel balls

Balls vs Patties

Falafel Recipe Nutrition Breakdown:

Total calories: 2,430

Protein: 94 grams

Fat: 217 grams

Carbs: 250.6

However, considering we were able to make 33 falafel balls/patties, the individual breakdown is:

Calories: 74

Protein: 3 grams

Fat: 7 grams

Carbs: 8 grams

While there are 7 grams of fat, the ratio of protein: fat: carbs is actually not so bad (a daily ration would be: 25-30%:30-35%:40-45% and this recipe has a 15%:45%:40%). So the fat is a little higher, but considering the fat comes from only the olive oil (27 g), garbanzo beans (17), sunflower seeds (52), and flax seeds (30), you’re getting mostly unsaturated fats.

Either way, it is extremely nutritious. Garbanzo beans (or chick peas) are extremely high in protein, often a valuable source of protein to vegetarians. They are good for body building and easily digestible, adding good amounts of iron, calcium, and phosphorus to a diet.

Mashing up Chickpeas

There are also substantial amounts of onions in our falafel, which is known to be valuable for hair, nails, toes, and the eyes. It is also recommended for asthma, colds, constipation, insomnia, vertigo, and obesity.